This invention has reference to ticket issuing machines and has particular but not exclusive reference to ticket machines known as hand held ticket issuing machines which are used to issue tickets for travel by public transport more especially by omnibus or by railway. Such ticket issuing machines may however be used for other applications in which a ticket issuing machine is carried by a mobile operator e.g. for issuing parking offence tickets or bills or betting tickets. It has been known for many years to provide ticket issuing machines comprising various kinds of variations of a printing drum associated with print wheel mechanisms to enable variable information to be printed on the ticket and in which the print wheel mechanism was present to determine the data to be printed on the ticket. Such machines were carried for example by a conductor on board an omnibus. The ticket issuing maching had a supporting web attached to it so that the conductor could support the machine on his chest. The variable data to be printed on the ticket could relate to the kind of ticket (single, return period); the fare stage (either the stage of boarding or the stage at which the passenger was required to alight), the value of the ticket issued etc. In addition static information was printed on the ticket and this information might refer to the issuing authority and the sequence of the ticket and perhaps the date of issue of the ticket.
In addition the ticket machines included registers to enable accumulative information such as the total number of tickets or the total value of tickets issued during a predetermined period to be displayed. Such registers usually showed an accumulative number which was checked as the conductor was issued with the ticket issuing machine at the start of a duty period and was rechecked at the end of the duty period.
Also some portable ticket issuing machines were provided to issue preprinted tickets of predetermined denominations. Thus a series of webs of tickets were arranged in a machine each web being printed in a distinctive colour and each representing a certain ticket value. On depression of a selected lever a single ticket of a predetermined value (dpending upon which lever was depressed) was issued. The machine also included counter mechanisms to indicate the number of tickets of each value issued and the machine had a supporting web to enable the machine to be supported on the conductors chest.
In the specifications of British Patents No: 1553570 and 1547984 there is described a Ticket Issuing Machine for issuing tickets for totalizator betting applications and this machine includes a wire printer mechanism as well as a keyboard, a microprocessor and a matrix display. Information about bets laid etc. were recorded on a computer usually located at a distance from but connected to the individual ticket issuing machines. Such machines were not readily portable.
In the Specification of European Patent Application No: 82300282.9 (0057080) there is described a ticket issuing machine for transport undertaking and which comprises a ticket printing device, a paper feed device for feeding a ticket web past the printing device, a microprocessor means, a keyboard for entering data into the microprocessor means, a store for retaining information about information to be printed on a ticket, which information can be transferred to the microprocessor means to control the ticket printing device under the control of the microprocessor means to determine the information to be printed on the ticket web, and a display panel for displaying information to be entered on the keyboard and information to be printed on the ticket and power means for driving the parts of the ticket issuing machine. This ticket issuing machine was intended primarily for "one man bus" applications. Such machines were not readily portable.
Ticket issuing machines which include a micro processor or other integrated store and control circuits and an electrically controlled printer need a considerable power supply for example a 24 volt battery and this with the casing weighs at least 900 grams.
If the ticket issuing machine is to be portable the battery needs to be carried. The ticket issuing machine is most easily operated when in front of an operator and at a lower level than his chest. However, this is not a convenient position in which to carry the machine when not actually being operated